BLACK TUESDAY.
Edward G Robinson & Jean Parker,
Milburn Stone, Peter Graves, Warren Stevens.
Dir: Hugo Fregonese, 1954, United Artists.

SYNOPSIS:
A killer escapes from Death Row and hides out with hostages in a disused warehouse. Cue the suspense and brooding.

"I remember during rehearsals there was, as usual much commotion and no one was paying much a attention to Robinson. He signalled for me to come over and whispered something in my ear. I didn't understand a word of it, so I asked him to repeat what he had said. He did and I realised he was speaking to me in Yiddish. I said to him: 'Mr Robinson, I'm Jewish, but I don't speak that language.' He looked at me with a sigh, mumbled some lament about the younger generation of Jews and then whispered, 'Where can I go to take a piss?'"
- Stephen Pinkus, a William Morris agent.

REVIEWS:
"Starkly melodramatic gangster vehicle with the star up to his oldest tricks. Good tension but generally rather unpleasant."
- Leslie Halliwell.
"He's lost none of his menacing qualities."
- Variety.
"It's a pleasure to see Mr Robinson shedding his good citizenship in such a colourful, lively show."
- New York Times.